Review on Belkin Wireless Surf Router F7D2301 by David Forleo

Delete my original review: What all the other reviewers say is true. Terrible connection, constant disconnects. It sucks. I go to one of the big stores to buy D-Link (which I've never had a problem with). Thanks Belkin for spouting nonsense! In fact, I originally ordered a Belkin Wireless Play Router (F7D4302). After re-reading the differences, I realized I could live without unnecessary "apps" and a USB port. I'm sure I made the right choice! Firstly, on the physical aspects of the router, when I opened the box I was very surprised. Cables connect to the router where they should already be. It may not seem like much but explaining this to my dad over the phone because when he shows up it will be easy. "Manual" wasn't, but it is on disk. I love that it comes preconfigured with WPA2 and a passcode on the card. There is a place to write down the settings you make and they are kept in a small pocket under the router. Additional software and firmware: The application on the CD only guides you through router configuration (which you can do via a browser if you know a URL that is NOT 192.168.x.xxx). The tool configures everything automatically, but I suggest password-protecting the router yourself. There's also a program that installs it, but I haven't had to use it yet. The firmware has many options that I played around with. Nothing special here to be honest. QoS is enabled, I haven't decided yet whether to leave it or not. I don't have VoIP, but I watch a lot of movies from my own network, as well as Boxee and Zinc. Some menus don't have as many options on one page as I'd like, causing me to scroll through more pages than I thought I needed. Yes, I'm not picky, but I liked the firmware on my Dlink gaming router. Finally, performance and price: Let's be honest. This is a great $49 Wireless-N router. I haven't seen the added value of the Self Healing App, but overall for the price I haven't seen a better deal. In terms of performance, I used to be able to transfer files larger than 10GB on my Dlink(g) gaming router at around 2-3Mbps. That brings me to 12-15. I am very happy. Streaming 10GB .mkv is now no problem at all. Probably my only real problem, it looks like REALLY cheap plastic. Personally, I'd pay $10 more to get a metal case like the Netgear switches. It could be a heat dissipation issue, I'm not sure, but like I said, it seems surprisingly cheap (and light). Don't need USB, it's your best choice!